Category: The Overcoming Believer

At the beginning of the year my friend Andile had us create our vision boards. We also did a challenge where you introduce yourself as the future you. That whole challenge challenged me. I had to get over the “it’s too big a dream!” thing and create a vision board that was faith based from the first picture to the last. If you haven’t done yours , do it today. There are apps like Canva that have the templates. My advice? Dream big and fuel it by faith.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Past negative experiences can make people feel worried that the same series of events will line up allowing the past to recreate itself. The disciples failing to catch fish all night could’ve been their excuse to say “No! We won’t cast the net again. We keep on failing ! We have tried 20 times and all we got was zero. We are tired of failing. We are going back home!” But they were still positive after toiling all night for NOTHING! Many of us have toiled over the years and caught nothing . God has sent a prophetic word but we did not mix it with faith because “Lord, I will fail again so NO!”

We fear another dose of heartbreak so we reject everyone. We fear the email saying we are not the preferred candidate so we stop applying. We fear that we will crush when the net is pulled and there’s nothing so we stay home and stop fishing. Fear. We look at the past and we assume that the future will be the same. That is not correct. Why are we afraid of a future that God says , will not bring us harm. I can’t help but conclude, we don’t necessarily fear the future, we just don’t have faith in God’s promises. We fear our own idea of the future. What lies behind the door at the other end of the room?

“Here’s what Yahweh says to you: “I know all about the marvelous destiny I have in store for you, a future planned out in detail. My intention is not to harm you but to surround you with peace and prosperity and to give you a beautiful future, glistening with hope.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭TPT‬‬

A future planned out in detail. The fear of the future can paralyse our daily lives. It can even take away your mental stability. Many people are depressed because of this. They lost a job and started spiralling in thoughts thinking about what will happen to them. What does the future hold for me now that I’ve lost my father? How many more years till Isaac is born? I’m running out of time; everyone around me is progressing. He still says, the future is planned out in detail? Every moment! So break free from the never-ending chain of worry that can give rise to feelings of hopelessness. Your future is sorted!

You are having trouble getting a good night’s sleep, can’t eat, you don’t laugh anymore, you have changed . These symptoms can weigh heavy on your mental and emotional wellbeing, robbing you of the joy of the present moment. Abraham waited, he did not question God, He trusted in Gods integrity even when he was told to slay Isaac , he didn’t fear what the future would look like between him and his wife. He didn’t sit and start thinking about how Sarah would respond to the fact that a father has killed his own son. In overthinking lies many weapons that demoralise. In overthinking lies seeds of doubt. In overthinking lies triggers of fear.

In the African society (and maybe other societies as well) parents are also another reason why young people fear the future. In the shouts and the complaints, fearful young people find themselves compromising to find relief . Girls are busy with older men , young men are busy with older women. The fraud. The back door deals. Sarah ‘s way out of barrenness because she fears dying without hearing the word “Mom” is still a foolish way out. The fear of the future will leave our society if we go back to the One who has already detailed it. And whatever He tells us to do .. we do it!

And hey… He is not a man that He should lie.

“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Most of my life I was so anxious. Afraid. Uncertain. I knew I had big dreams. Oh I’m a dreamer. My mind has gone as far as imagining I had my own country somewhere and I was President. I really really dream big! With those big dreams, a plan, praying, I was very fearful of what my future would look like. When you’re in high school you think , “Oh by 25 l will be married with two kids, driving this, living there, doing that.” Then the clock ticks , closer to 24, to 25 and your life looks nothing like you imagined. I mean nothing. You just have a couple of certificates, job today, no job tomorrow, and probably a lousy relationship that even you know, will not lead to the uncles announcing themselves at the gate. And from the boys perspective, even the woman you thought was the one was also someone else’s “the one”. All these things create so much worry about tomorrow because yesterday seemingly failed us.

I know people who laugh now in disbelief if you told them things will change. What did Sarah do?

“So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my Lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭18‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sarah looked at her wrinkly skin. Her hair was probably gray white that time. Maybe episodic knee pains. Sore back at irregular intervals. Maybe she couldn’t do what she used to do before, l suppose as couples grow older the less they desire to have sex due to decrease in sexual activity in women, beginning at the onset of menopause in their early 50’s. Considering all the factors involved, when she heard the word , she laughed within herself and accompanied that laughter with a question of disbelief, “Abraham and l are worn out. Is it now that we’re going to have this pleasure?” Is it now that the husband will come? 3 have already disappointed me. Is it now that the job will come? I have had over 50 rejections. Is it now that l will finally laugh? My life has been chaotic since the day I was born. Is it now that things will change?

Let’s not lie to each other, when you’ve not seen results in a long time, holding onto a promise is hard. It requires foolish faith. Faith that is so radical it rides over your many thoughts of why it can’t happen. I can imagine Abraham . The man sat there and received the word. He staggered not upon the promises of God through unbelief. He wasn’t afraid or anxious about the future. To him the future was already sorted. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most famous scriptures yet one of the most unbelievable to a stagnated believer in a progressing society. When is this future? How much longer do l have to wait?

I’m not addressing lazy people on this post. This is for those who have put in the work and still there’s no harvest. Those are the people who easily worry about the future. Lazy people no. If they were worried they’d be doing what everyone else is doing. – Casting the net.

So I found out through research that this is called anticipatory fear. It usually kicks in when a disappointment has occurred in the past. It’s also called the fear of the unknown . People have an idea of what their future is like but they don’t know for sure. The bible clearly states that we only key into the future through faith. The only One who knows our future, seen it and has gone past it is GOD! Our future is His past. Our present is his past. Our entire lives, from beginning to the end, not one single moment is guess work for God. Your life right now is not a shock to Him. It may be – for you though because lol the journal says right now you should be a millionaire. How do we deal with this? How do we rid ourselves of the anxiety , the worry, the fear, the uncertainty of what things will look like next week? Next month? Next year?

We do it how Abraham did it. By faith. Read this slowly and understand. Let’s meet again tomorrow for part 2.

“Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That’s why it is said, “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.” But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬-‭25‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Hey family! It’s popcorn time! Let’s get reading! Yha today no movies for you. I hope you guys watched the one from last week though! Let’s get some knowledge!
[If there’s highlights on the book I’m sorry – I highlight when l read]

I’ve got a book for the singles.

I love you!

This is one of the hardest things to do. Job had to wait from chapter 3 all through to 42. I researched how long that could’ve been. The answers are quite unclear , maybe literal months or Job’s suffering could have lasted much longer.No matter how long Job actually suffered, it likely felt like an eternity to him. But Job was patient and endured to see God’s blessing after the test. One of the things l like about Job is that even on the very first day – he worshipped. He worshipped after having lost his wealth, children and health. Show me a believer that has given up on God and they will tell you they lost a job and turned away from God!

Worship while you wait. Worship while you apply. Worship even when you get the rejection letter. Worship even after the relationship doesn’t work out. Worship when there’s no money in the bank account. Praise even when there’s only rice and soup to eat. Praise even during the storms of life like grief. When you lose friends – worship. When people walk out – worship. When they mock your faith and say “We thought you’re a prayer warrior , where is your God?” Don’t join them! Worship! Worship when you walk through the fire! In the lions den , praise!! Even right now when you don’t know whether you’re coming or going or stagnated, keep worshipping! I’m saying to you KEEP ON WORSHIPPING! KEEP ON PRAISING! As for me and the Yielded Family – We will keep our knees bowed before our God!

Are you hurt ? Worship. Are you sad? Praise. There’s nothing that should stop our worship. It’s hard! Oh it can be so hard ! Minister Dunsin in one of his songs says “When the glory comes there will be no words to say!” . We can run out of words but the heart should never disconnect from worship. Without words, we lay our crowns and we fix our gaze on our Master! We don’t stop looking at HIM! We don’t look at the waves lest we sink! It is our gaze on Him that gives us balance while we walk on water!

““I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

No matter it looks or sounds like right now!
Here’s one truth

Dear family, I’m excited! Yielded TV is now on YouTube. To join the team members fill in the Google Form. Yes! You can join from abroad for stuff like picking costumes, admin and voice overs. Follow us on Instagram for more updates. Simply click on the red letters to find the links. Okayyyyy lezzz go!

Yesterday we laid the foundation on this topic and I believe that in the simplicity of the message, we were helped by the Holy Spirit. The two things that deal with fear are peace and love. The Peace that surpasses all understanding and The Love of God. This means when we fear we are lacking in “understanding” of the two things. Some people live in so much fear they can’t even switch off the lights when they go to bed. Some can’t sleep because they fear what may come upon them in their dreams . Some fear almost everything so put them in church they’d still be afraid. Nothing makes a difference. A fearful people who fear what fears them – the enemy.

“I repeat, be strong and brave! Do not yield to fear nor be discouraged, for I am Yahweh your God, and I will be with you wherever you go!””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Yielded family, what is to yield? If I katch you giving the wrong answer I will bite you and your phone. The Word of God says do not YIELD to fear. We have a choice! When we fear – we choose to yield , to surrender to, to submit to , to give away to the pressure of fear. How do we choose? By refusing to study the word of God. If you fear that the devil will kill you , it’s not evidence of “I am a dreamer” it’s e evidence of an ignorant Christian who does not study the word because only then will you be able to tell truth from lies. Let me also say this, not all your dreams are from God . Some dreams are sent by the enemy to cause you to fear and the number of people who have fallen for it is ALARMING!

The spirits you fear are subject to you! You need to have an understanding of WHO YOU ARE. You are a child of God. I am not a mother yet but I can imagine someone abusing my child in my presence, eh I would kick that person that day 🤣 if you who is of flesh can do that for your child then what of GOD! Do you know how many battles He fights for you daily? The arrows that fly by day? Have they struck you? I love it when David says the sun shall not harm you by day nor the moon by night! Kai! It means other get harmed during the day and night but as for YOU! You can’t be afraid of a witch because God is not afraid of the Devil.

“You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!”
‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

Now the bible says that same God lives in you.! The God whose presence makes demons tremble! The renewal of your mind is very important! For many people it’s the thoughts that drive you crazy. Read that verse again slowly. Try reading it in other versions. The Christ in you ; is a terror to the enemy ; so you are a terror to the enemy! How do you explain a King , with a whole army, whose word is law , has many subjects and slaves, who fears a newborn baby! Make it make sense! A whole Cyril afraid of a child that’s not even a month old and is still in Baragwanath hospital? It means even at 16 , at 9, at 27, at 20, once you have a revelation of your identity in Christ, you are a terror to the enemy no matter how old he is or the size of his demonic army! When they killed babies under 2 in Egypt , the enemy was being threatened! The devil shivers when he meets a believer who has an identity but he tossed and turns the believer who has an identity crisis.

King Herod didn’t fear just any child. It was the identity of the child that messed him up! Not the name!!!! He didn’t know the name! Ah! He doesn’t care that your name is Vanessa or Grace !! It is the positioning, the revelation of ordinance, the future, the priesthood that gives him diarrhoea. Not Vanessa but V of the Most High God!!! The child is not just Mary’s boy child, He is the Christ! The Messiah! You’re not just a girl, you’re a Jesus Girl!

“and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We saw his star! You don’t know the star you have that is making hell nervous. You have no idea the power in you! If in the presence of God there’s thunder and lightning, that means when you step into a place!!! Asher! Your star disturbs hell but until you catch the drift of your identity, you’ll have the star and still be the slave. You’ll be called the army of God like Israel but be threatened by one giant for days on end !! FEAR OF THE ENEMY made a whole army run from one man! A whole family! You’ll have an identity in Christ but never more than a conqueror! Arise! Rebuke that fear! Charge up in the spirit! Build your self up like David in the wilderness ! There is a giant in you! This is not about age or cuteness or even church title! This is about the manifestation of Sons of God who meet the enemy at the battle they already won ! Shoulders up, chin up, boldness, worded up, prayed up, show up and bruise the head of the serpent!

Please take some time and meditate on Psalm 91. Don’t say “ l know it” if you’re still afraid you don’t know it. Knowing how to recite it and understanding it are two different things. Too much familiarity with scriptures is killing believers. Read it again and again. We’re not in knowledge competition, we are to understand so we can grow! I Use different versions to study until you understand!

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Hey beautiful family. My apologies for posting late today. I want to start off by wishing the daddies a Happy Belated Father’s Day. You’re amazing ! You’re honoured. You’re celebrated. I lost my Dad years ago but by God’s grace the gap was filled by honourable Fathers that God gave me. The world is harsh to the fatherless. This is why God has always addressed the orphans in the Bible. Please care for your children ; it’s beyond “money” . The relationship; the investment of time; the small things matter too ( Do give them money if you can lol) Dear Fathers; society will crash and burn without you. You are pillars. We love you!

Click on the link to learn more about Fatherhood according to God’s plan. Click here

As we continue on our topic of Overcoming Fear; this week we are looking at The Fear Of The Enemy. The Bible acknowledges that there are spirits forces of evil that oppose and fight the believers in Christ but it also teaches that we can overcome them through the power of God. Every one who is of age to understand , Christian or not, is aware of demonic spirits and their various activities. In African society people fear witchcraft the most. As a matter of fact; in every family, there has been a witch of two in the lineage. It can be quite scary for those who have not yet grown in the things of God to discover such truths. Evil is real. The devil is real. Demons are real. Witches and wizards are real. AND SO IS GOD!

In the accounts of the synoptic gospels; Jesus delivered many people from demonic oppression. The most famous being the mad man in the country of the Gerasenes who lived in the cemetery and had become so violent to himself and others. We are then able to understand that even violence is from demonic oppression but that’s not our topic today. I want us to understand that the devil is very active in every country. This side or the other side. Even if you run to UK or Kenya or wherever, he has his minions planted there to execute evil. We are not to be ignorant of this. Many people run from learning these things because of fear. “If l discover I will fear more,” no my darling. The truth sets us free even from the spirit of fear. So learn about it. All your 5 years a believer – you need to be groomed for warfare.

I have had encounters with demonic spirits both spiritually and physically. I dare not lie to you that the enemy cannot intensify at battle. I dare not mislead you to live in a bubble of fantasy that he will not pursue the believer. The devil has a purpose just like you and l . This is his purpose and what wakes him up in the morning;

“A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy.
‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬a ‭TPT‬‬

Satan has no business befriending you. He is not seeking for your affection just your attention. He has no care about your pool tears or your weariness. “I will kill myself” he doesn’t care. In fact you make the job easy for him. Without you he has one less problem to deal with. He has only one thing in mind. Unlike the believer, Satan is very serious about his purpose. He is very intentional about his mission. He is driven by his desire to steal , kill and destroy while we are driven by almost everything. An unfocused man cannot fight the devil. Your mind is already unstable. That’s the first fight the devil wins over you. The thief will come ; oh he surely will; but God says you have already overcome. How?

“You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world. So who are the world conquerors, defeating its power? Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Other versions say Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world! Are you born again? Then you have overcome the world. Once you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour you become more powerful than David with his sling and stone. More powerful than Goliath. More powerful than witches. If these truths are hard to believe – it is your faith that is glitching. The signal is not connecting well. You need to believe this otherwise you will keep handing over your sword to the devil. What you’re afraid of is afraid of you. Dear David; Saul is afraid of you.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Let’s continue tomorrow on how to win battles against the devil. May the Lord deliver you from the fear of the devil. Imagine a policeman who is afraid of one thief from somewhere who doesn’t even have a gun. That’s you being afraid of the devil. Now imagine Herod being afraid of baby Jesus – that’s how much the devil fears you. Read this article again until you understand. I love you.

GOOD NEWS!!! Before I share it with you guys , I wanna give you the background of yielded. In December l was so frustrated by the fact that l had four books written and ready to be published and had no funds to do it. The calculations of how much one book would cost me messed me up – yes (oh Vanessa of little faith). I had spent nights upon nights writing my books both for Christian children and the matured believer. Man I gave it my all, diligently studying the Word – so you can imagine how frustrated I was having done all that to end up before the Red Sea, no way back and seemingly no way forward. Like Israel l began to cry. And Instead waking up to a million – l woke up to yielded.

I was busy googling platforms to use my talent because what l was determined to not allow my setback to cause me to bury the talent on the ground. You guys read this blog daily – I’m not one of the best writers (YET) but I love writing. I didn’t want stop stirring up the gift and be called an unfaithful servant by the Master. God then ushered me here. I now understand the setback. My vision was only “books” Gods vision was “blogs, books, tv, etcetera”. If I had gotten that money in December I’d have never started a blog. I’d have sat on that forever. The redirection to start yielded was not God saying l will never publish my books, No! That was God saying there’s more platforms – as l commit to stirring up the gift – l will not only stop books but to international platforms. Yielded blog has readers from across the world and tbh I really don’t know many of the people. God called them. He uses those who keep reposting the link to say “Come and read!”. I check my readers statistics and I’m like “Who do l know in such and such a country?” How come they’re here? God has shown me His faithfulness through you. This journey has been life changing for me as it may be for you. I am learning to trust God with the vision He gave me and that has brought me unexpected and unexplainable results and opportunities.

Now the GOOD news is God has given us another vision. Well, two! If you scroll down you’ll notice that there’s free prayer and counselling slots from Yielded Counselling Center. Soon we will have a properly set up website ( please pray for that) that way all our features will be available and accessible from here as opposed to waiting for me to post what’s happening. Our new baby is the Yielded TV!! If you’ve known me for a long time you’ll know that back then I used to write fictional novels. Had lots of readers online and so now I’m using that gift to create Christian movies. All this is coming from one instruction to start a blog. Our Instagram page is https://www.instagram.com/yieldedtv?igsh=MWZ3bHJod2N5b3V3bw== click to follow and let’s get ready for what God is gonna do! I’d love to hear your reviews on what we post there. Very soon we will have our Yielded T-shirts that you’ll be able to purchase via this website.

You see? Just that one song that God says release can open many doors of opportunity. I believe that this year my books will be released. The Lord just had me take another route which was for my good. I did not even need money for all that I’m doing now. I couldn’t have guessed when I was crying to God saying “I’ve laboured to write, why don’t l have the funds to do this” – that one day I’d understand the plan of God. There’s more! One more thing : commit to the vision God gives you. One leg in and one leg out people cannot grow and they don’t have the capacity to grow a vision. Be a full participant of your vision. I read yielded blogs. I also consistently join MPG prayer calls. I fully participate because those who follow or believe in your vision must first see you commit to it.Christ is committed to the church – we have a template. The double mindedness you have about your vision is why you haven’t started building and you see slow progress. Get your whole being into the vision and let’s move!

I’m super excited because I found some power packed worship session by Minister Abbey Ojomu. As promised on the MPG live yesterday I also have powerful praise session for you. Here are the links below; please do praise God with me! (You’re gonna have to be reading the meaning of the Nigerian lyrics on the praise song but it’s PHAWAFOO)

PRAISE | WORSHIP

“So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭TPT‬‬

The Holy Bible

Hey family!
To continue on yesterday’s topic I’d like us to study the life of John the Baptist. He was Jesus’ cousin, born to prepare the way for the Lord as prophecied by Isaiah. The bible says that his lifestyle was not like the normal suit and tie, pizza and coke, or whatever they ate or wore that time. He loved differently. By living apart from the culture John was able to speak with great passion and clarity for the people of that day. He was part of the community but not part of the culture.

Let’s pause for a minute… Is it possible that we are afraid to speak up about the truth of the gospel because we are consumed by the culture of the communities we live in therefore we can’t speak against what we also partake in. A thief can’t call out another thief. The culture, the beliefs, the traditions, the day to day of the world cannot be the same as ours who are saved. Many of us are silenced because we also drink what they drink, smoke what they smoke, worship the gods they worship, do what they do – and if it happened in the past it is okay but now that you’re John The Baptiser, your lifestyle should be consistent to the values of the kingdom.

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John’s teachings were just raw. By raw I mean he never sugar coated anything. He had no fear of man.He didn’t live for the opinions of others, but lived with compassion to see others brought to repentance towards Christ. John was not afraid of the religious or political leaders of his day. He saw beyond their robes and titles into the deeper heart. He spoke the truth with clarity and passion, he didn’t live to people-please, simply to preach the need for forgiveness of sin. He called out the Pharisees and Sadducees, for what they truly were. He even died for speaking the truth to Herod! We are afraid to tell our friends “this is wrong” so how will we ever speak up against wrong laws made in our countries. If you can’t tell your friend , how will you tell the strangers? We are afraid. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom I assume the fear of man is the beginning of foolishness.

“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬ | Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today’s believer fears man. We fear that they’ll put us in prison. How many people in the bible were imprisoned for speaking the truth? MANY! Am l terrified at the thought of being imprisoned yes! But how come we say we want to be like Jesus? He too was imprisoned for the truth – He was and is the King of the Jews. I’m saying to you, if you were to be in that position for the gospel would you change your testimony? Stephen would you say “no l was joking” . Apostles would you deny like Peter? “I don’t know him” because we are afraid of the people? How many times have we denied Christ and what we claim to believe because Herod will imprison us? Because our families will cut us off? Because we have an image to protect? If the extreme came and you had to die for speaking the truth – would you still stand for the truth? (I need to also sit and meditate on this one) How far are we willing to go to make sure nations are saved? The truth is we can’t go anywhere if we are afraid of man.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How you speak – are you a people pleaser? What you do at work? How you carry yourself as a believer, whose approval do you seek? We fear that society will reject us for choosing Jesus, the cute lady will reject you for being a man of God so you hide that you speak in tongues. Your colleagues will not accept you because you don’t drink alcohol so you take it realise you kissed someone you don’t even know. Fear that our parents will disown us so we keep attending their ceremonies of ancestral worship. Fear that we will come across as “too serious” about God , so we go on social media and tone down the gospel. Other men died for this gospel, others were imprisoned , others suffered , what are we willing to sacrifice ? Can we sacrifice the approval of man for the kingdom of God?

The fear of man silences the believer. Hey, it’s okay to be different. We are not of the world . I trust that this teaching will help you to be bold about Christ wherever you are and wherever you go! I need to re-read as many times as possible so that I can also live what I’m teaching. Be a John the Baptist in a world of Peter’s by the fire. The overcoming believer must first overcome the fear of man – replace it with the fear of God.

“Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭69‬-‭70‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Then Jesus said, “Be brave and don’t be afraid. I am here!””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that something or someone poses a threat to us. I remember growing up watching African movies, you guys know Patience Ozokwor movies yes? I’d always be scared because I thought oh she’s gonna show up and mince me up. The Blood Sisters scenes would play in my head – as a kid – l really thought dead people have more power than the living – now I realise , fear also comes from not knowing TRUTH. Had I known what I know now, I’d have really slept like a baby. What a waste man! 🙃

The spirit of fear causes us to weaken our resolve and shrink back. Let’s discuss types of fear;

• The fear of man

Part of the after effects of the fall was the fear of man—a sinful craving for approval and status. We say things like ,”I fear to fail my parents, I want to be accepted by so and so , I’m afraid they will leave . I’m afraid of being different in my community/family” . We have threats like social media saying , “Everyone here wears almost nothing. You can’t dress modestly here. Nobody will accept you.” And so because we fear not having a “following” we start to become like the world . Like chameleons, we change our conduct to blend in with the new “man” you fell in love with , you compromise because if you don’t , he threatens to leave. The fear of man.

The bible has examples of men who were feared by the people. The parents of the blind man feared the Pharisees so they refused to be witnesses. One wrong word and the Pharisees would ban them from having anything to do with the synagogue. They had a lifetime of social interaction to lose, so they just claimed him as their son and said, “He is of age; ask him.” Imagine how they felt – not being able to celebrate their sons healing because of fear. We fear telling our friends we prayed for the blessing and we just tell them “I hustled” – to look cool yes? We can’t post about Jesus because we fear that people will call us “holier than thou”. People will say “You’re too serious about church, you’re boring!” Anytime we fear people , we rob ourselves from the liberty of living as God wants us to.

It’s easy to say “oh his parents should’ve just spoken up!” But what about us? Do we speak up against what is wrong? Do we tell the world the truth about Jesus? I know people who will never go to the streets to evangelise because they’re afraid their buddies who know them for other things will be shocked. Have you ever remained silent when you should have said something? Have you watered down your talk in order to not offend? You don’t want to offend your friends so you tag along to a wild party?

Do you go to church on Sunday but keep it a secret from those you meet on Monday? Are you afraid to go to a church that boldly proclaims the gospel because you’re afraid you’d have to drop your other life and risk losing your lifestyle that is funded by that life? There are people who can’t be trusted with big visions because they will compromise and a big number of people will fall with them. Big vision is for bold people like the blind son. He boldly spoke about his healing. The people you’re afraid of can be addressed. Someone will address them!

“We have no idea,” they answered. “We don’t know what happened to our son. Ask him, he’s a mature adult. He can speak for himself.” (Now the parents were obviously intimidated by the Jewish religious leaders, for they had already announced to the people that if anyone publicly confessed Jesus as the Messiah, they would be excommunicated. That’s why they told them, “Ask him, he’s a mature adult. He can speak for himself.”)
‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬

What did their son say?

“I tell you, if this man isn’t from God, he wouldn’t be able to heal me like he has!”
‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭33‬ ‭TPT‬‬

And hey, I love you. Go and tell your world about Jesus! Fear not, He is with you!